A waitress stopped by our table and took one look at Mason before practically fawning over him. And who could blame her? Mason was adorable, with longish brown hair that glinted with natural copper highlights. It constantly fell into his eyes, which made every woman want to reach out and brush it back.

“What’s your pleasure?” she said to him, her voice dripping with innuendo.

“Heineken for me.” Mason smiled and shot me a sly wink.

She reluctantly turned her attention to me. “And for you?”

“I’ll have a cranberry and vodka, please.”

The waitress gave Mason one more glance before she sashayed away. He chuckled as he turned away from her and looked at me.

“What? Why is your nose all scrunched up like you smelled a skunk?”

“Could she be more obvious?”

His eyebrow shot up. “Probably, but she’s not my type.”

“Tall, blond, and stacked isn’t your type? Since when?”

I laughed as Malibu Barbie came back to our table. She placed my drink down and gracefully slid a green bottle in front of Mason. Turning her back to me, she cocked her hip and focused on him.

“Anything else I can get you?”

Mason’s lips twisted into a small smile. “Not for me.” Barely glancing at her, he turned a tender gaze on me. “Honey? Did you need anything else?”

I tried to stifle my snicker. “No, but thank you for asking, sweetheart.”

Blondie looked at me and then back to Mason as if she was trying to figure out why he was with me. “Let me know if you change your mind,” she said with a sniff, and left the tab on the table. This time when she walked away, there was a little less sass in her sashay.

Grinning at Mason, I said, “I don’t know why you don’t go for one of the women who come on to you. Don’t worry about me; you should go out and have a good time. Lord knows your pickings aren’t slim.”

“So, the senator . . .” Completely dismissing what I’d said, Mason pinned his gaze on me as I swirled the little plastic stirrer in my drink.

Averting my eyes, I said, “He asked me to dinner.” I took a sip of my cocktail before slowly looking up at him.

“And? What did you say?” Mason asked, his voice laced with concern.

I knew why, of course, but I also knew he’d be happy that I’d decided to take a chance.

“I said yes.”

CHAPTER 2

~ Drake ~

The little black dress that had hugged Lucy’s curvy body made me thankful I wasn’t a student in her class. If I were, there was no way I would have been able to maintain good grades; my concentration would have flown right out the window. Or down to my pants.

I sat in the passenger seat of my BMW M5, going through e-mails on my phone as Ben navigated DC traffic, headed back to my office. His face was twisted in a scowl, and he cleared his throat.

Looking up from my phone, I drawled, “Is there something you’d like to say?”

The way his hands wrapped around the steering wheel, almost wringing it like a wet towel, I knew he had something rattling around in his brain. If he weren’t such a good campaign manager, I would have found someone else long ago. Ben was blunt and abrasive, which could be incredibly annoying.

“You shouldn’t have asked her out,” he said as he brought the car to a stop in front of the Senate Office Building. Frowning at me, he added, “Someday you’ll understand that you aren’t just an ordinary person. There are people who can bring down your career in an instant.”

“Ben, do you honestly think a high school teacher is high risk? Shit, look at some of the women you’ve set me up with.” I shook my head in disbelief.

“The difference is, I’ve vetted them before you’ve gone out, and most are just women I’ve come to know who understand why they’re with you. It isn’t their first time in the political rodeo. They know the score.”

I chuckled. “Yes, a political rodeo, and I’m sure they’ve ridden their share of politicians.” Sobering, I said, “Do me a favor and don’t dig into Ms. Washburn’s past. I want to find out about her on my own.”

His lips formed a tight line. “I advise against that, Drake.”

As we exited the car and took the steps up to the office, I tossed over my shoulder, “Noted.”

Once I was in my office and behind closed doors, I pulled out my phone again. Not wanting to appear too forward—or even worse, hard up—I sent Lucy an innocent message, hoping it would spark a conversation.

No, that wasn’t completely true. I wanted her to be thinking of me just as I thought of her.

D

RAKE

: Thank you for having me in your class today.

I had an event I needed to attend tonight, but I knew my mind would be elsewhere—on a particular teacher with a body that could stop even DC traffic.

• • •

Three hours later, I walked into the lobby of the hotel hosting the event. Typical for our nation’s capital, tonight was a formal event, which meant tuxedos and evening gowns. I’d much rather be wearing jeans and a T-shirt, but that wasn’t my reality. At least, not tonight.

Contrary to what people might believe, politicians didn’t spend the majority of their time sitting in Congress or meeting with constituents. The reality of politics was that the moment you won an election, you set your sights on the next one, and that meant fundraising. Tonight’s event was primed to raise a lot of money for our party, and I had to be there. With the primary coming up in a couple of months, I needed to be front and center, shaking hands and wooing donors. And events like this was how it was done.

My date and sister, Gretchen, was waiting for me when I arrived.

“You know, big brother, you really need to get a girlfriend,” she said, laughing.

I kissed her on the cheek. “Hey, Gretch.”

My sister looked lovely tonight, as always, accustomed to dressing up and playing her part as my usual plus-one. As we walked into the ballroom of the posh hotel, she slipped her arm through mine.

“You look great,” I told her. “I’ll have to make sure everyone sees you.”

“What else is new? But you forget that I’m off-limits.”

“Yes, your fantastic traveling boyfriend. You could do so much better than that tool.”

Her clutch bag connected with my chest with a thud.

“Damn, what the hell do you have in that thing?” I winced, rubbing at my chest before frowning at her.

“Just because you don’t like Scott doesn’t mean I don’t. We’ve been together a long time, and yes, he’s gone a lot, but you should be happy about that. If he weren’t,” she said with a pointed look, “you’d need to get yourself an actual date for these shindigs.”

Gretchen had that look in her eye. Knowing my sister was getting riled up, I let it go.

Just inside the ballroom, we did our meet-and-greets with the event organizers and chatted with a few colleagues of mine. Naturally, I didn’t fess up to her being my sister, not that I needed to. Most knew who she was. She was still the best decoy I could have, and with her on my arm, no man in their right mind would come on to her, which put her boyfriend’s mind at ease.

Curiosity and impatience got the best of me, so I pulled out my cell phone and glanced at the screen before slipping it back into my inside jacket pocket. No text. It was going to be a long night. The more my thoughts drifted to the sexy schoolteacher, the more I could envision cold showers in my future.

The band struck up a lively number, and when Gretchen gave me the eye, I escorted her to the dance floor. She loved to dance, and the least I could do to pay her back for accompanying me was to indulge her.

“How was your day?” she said. “You went to a high school, right?”

I took a deep breath, thinking about the auburn-haired beauty I’d met today. Lucy’s brown eyes had filled with excitement at the topic of politics, and I wanted—no, needed—to get to know her better. She was not only beautiful and sexy, but smart too, and we had at least one thing in common. The woman intrigued me; it had been a while since I’d met anyone as genuine and interesting.